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Kevin

The web world has always been quick to call something a “game changer” or a “killer app” at a moment’s notice.  These sorts of declarations come largely from the early adopter crowd; a group of individuals who play a critical role in the advancement of technology.  Often times, making these sorts of statements are either: 1) unwarranted, 2) unjustified, or simply 3) premature.

But yesterday, when Google demoed their Wave product at the IO conference in San Francisco [video below], everybody watching knew that today was not like any other day.  It was very clear that the game had just changed, and drastically at that.  Google’s Wave was a project started over two years ago attempting to “re-invent” e-mail as we knew it.  In doing so, the Australian-based team at Google uncovered an amazing communication and collaboration platform.

[too long? ... read this great Google Wave breakdown courtesy of Mashable]

The service boasts the most interactive and real-time communication experience we have ever seen.  Remember thinking that it couldn’t get any more real-time than Twitter?  Or maybe even FriendFeed?  Wave literally blows these communication outlets out of the water (no pun intended) in terms of its connectivity and real-timeyness with it’s character-by-character chat-style communication flow.  No longer do you have to wait for an individual to post the reply, comment, or update; because if you are both on the “wave” at the same time, you are watching each other type, character by character, virtually lag-free!  Overload?  Maybe.  Game-changing?  Absolutely.

In addition to Wave’s powerful social implications lies Wave’s incredible enterprise capabilities.  Wave revamps online collaboration, now making wikis feel archaeic in nature.  The business implications on such a platform are immediately apparent.

How did Google do it?

• First, the team looked at the most dominant form of communication on the internet today: e-mail.
• Then the team asked, “What if email were invented today instead of 40 years ago?”
• Then they set out to essentially “re-invent” email using all of today’s communication tools the web has to offer
• As a result, the team created the most complete communication platform in history.

Just how pervasive will Google Wave become?

Is there a chance Google Wave won’t take off?  Yeah, I guess there’s a chance…but a very slight one.  Google’s focus on open source architecture and developer interaction leads me to believe that we are in for one long ride, on one very big wave.

There is somewhat of a war waging between both the Twitter and FriendFeed services as of late.  More specifically, a “battle” between the services’ users.  For the most part, FriendFeed users LOVE FriendFeed and CAN’T STAND Twitter, whereas Twitter users LOVE Twitter and CAN”T STAND FriendFeed.  So, the natural follow-up to this debate is to ask the question: Who’s right?

Twitter, for better or for worse, has emerged into the mainstream.  FriendFeed, on the other hand, tends to “fly under the radar”, and seems to appeal only to the tech-savvy and early adopter crowds.  Mind you, this is exactly how Twitter once existed to the general public less than a year ago.  So, I guess the first topic to explore would be to see where Twitter went “right” and where FriendFeed went “wrong”.

How much is too much?

The common denominator in both the Twitter and FriendFeed services lie in their ability to facilitate converstation, acting as a “global chatroom,” where users are free to share their thoughts and see what others are talking about.

Twitter does exactly this, and only this.  Twitter remains an extremely minimalist service that has succeeded in creating its own platform for communicating…in short, 140-character capsules.
FriendFeed, on the other hand, takes this style of communication to the next level.  Users are able to bring in content from around the web to share and discuss material with no restrictions.  The platform is the quickest and most efficient “real-time” platform on the web allowing users to have conversations instead of just messages.  The service also boasts an amazing number of tools and filters to help users “cut through the noise.”

So why hasn’t everyone jumped onto FriendFeed?  It’s clearly more robust with features, doing everything Twitter does and much much more.  So why do the majority of people still prefer Twitter over Friendfeed?

The answer is: Simplicity and Familiarality.  Despite the fact that FriendFeed is a lot more powerful than Twitter, there is something to be said about the act of signing up, typing 140 characters, and becoming part of the Twittersphere.  Similarly, it is worth noting the insanely basic Twitter interface that everyone and their mother can relate to.  It’s quite possibly the most intuitive UI…it’s a stream of short messages…and THAT’S IT.
FriendFeed gives users a lot more freedom and little direction after signing up.  This is why the tech-savvy LOVE it, and the less technical CAN’T STAND it.  FriendFeed allows its users to use the service however they please, establish various feeds and filters, post to different networks, and tweak a ton of account settings.  Overall, FriendFeed falls short in the two areas Twitter excels in: Simplicity and Familiarality.  As Michael Arrington puts it, “FriendFeed Is In Danger Of Becoming The Coolest App No One Uses.”

So who wins the Race?

As Twitter’s user base and third party support continues to skyrocket, it would be hard to imagine someone dethroning the popular service.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for FriendFeed, however.  The service is way too powerful to die.  I think it is best summed up in a post by Alex Scoble (shown below).  He states, “Twitter is like a pager…friendfeed is like a smart cell phone…”  To which Justin Korn replies, “Not everyone needs the smart cell phone…just a basic one will do.”

Is FriendFeed just ahead of its time?  Will people eventually start to consider leaving Twitter for FriendFeed, just as many of us have ditched our basic cell phones for “smarter” ones?

Ironically enough, it is on these smart phones where a huge number of tweets are sent everyday.  The timing could not have been more perfect for Twitter.  Unfortunately for FriendFeed, it looks like they may have to wait in order for time to catch up with them.

What is the Real-time Web?

If you’re not quite sure what the ‘real-time’ web is, maybe you’ve heard it called life-streaming, micro-blogging, or tweeting.  It really doesn’t matter what you call it.  The ‘real time’ web (RTW) is all about one thing: the fast transfer of knowledge.  It’s really as simple as that.  How fast can I notify, update, and/or interact with a community of like-minded individuals?  It’s a direct extension of the blogging format, with far less barriers, a constant stream of information, searchability, a much larger audience…and we are just at the BEGINNING of this phenomenon.

We are just at the beginning…

At the forefront of this RTW revolution is Twitter.  What this once modest, still barebones service was able to do in such a short time is truly astounding.  It has surpassed that “trend” phase and is slowly creeping into a [dare I say it?] mainstream service.  You may think to yourself – “So what, who cares if people use Twitter?”

What’s the point?

I guess the point that I want to hit home the most is that this really is the future of our web interactions.  It took us a few years, but we are finally leveraging this technology and connecting with other human beings instead of relying on computers, algorithms, and search results to deliver our online data (hmm…Google).  The RTW has enabled us to connect with individuals who we would never of been able to connect with otherwise.  People, for the most part are pretty amazing and you’ll be surprised how much people will give back.  Perfect example: After following theCRICKETtoy on Twitter (accidentally, I must admit),  I receive an instant direct message from the company’s owner asking if I would like one of their CRICKETtoy™ products for FREE.  Not really expecting anything out of it, I direct messaged my address back, and received the little guy in the mail in just days! (Thanks Jeff)  Point is, people want to connect with people, and the RTW finally allows us to do just that.  It doesn’t matter if your promoting a company, a service, a blog, or a product; what the RTW forces you to do is promote yourself first.  People do this by helping others, giving advice, offering their services, whatever it may be, people want to be part of this amazing ‘real-time’ exchange of ideas and information.

What does this mean?

I made a slight cut at Google before…kind of joking, but kind of serious at the same time.  Google searches are great for historical and static pages on the net, but when it comes to current and news-breaking events, nothing comes close to the RTW.  I find myself gravitating towards Twitter Search for various information now.  There is so much power that lies in the RTW and its huge community of people that conventional search engines tend to seem “old school”.  Before pages are indexed in search engines, and even before a blogger can create a post, someone from the Twitter community has already wrote a 140-character gem that will be retweeted, discussed, and spread virally throughout the internet instantly.  So powerful.

What should I do?

Get on Twitter if you haven’t already.  Create an account and start connecting with people that interest you.  Guy Kawasaki has some great articles on how to get started on Twitter.  Read both, here and here.

Once you have built up a solid community of twitterites, I recommend utilizing the power of FriendFeed.  Check out the RTW jedi himself, Robert Scoble, on how to get started with Friendfeed.

Most importantly…

I want to hear from you guys who are part of the RTW.  I want to get your feedback and your opinions.  I would like to do a more comprehensive follow-up and would love to hear back from the community

• What are you thoughts about the future of the RTW?
• More useful: Friendfeed or Twitter?
• How should companies embrace the power of the RTW?
• How many third party Twitter applications do you use?
• How do you get your news?

I figure I’d compile a list of websites / services that have caught my attention recently.  These are sites that cover a variety of topics and uses.  Hopefully I can introduce you to something of interest…

…and don’t worry…there is nothing in here that starts with the letters “T-W-I-T”

Screentoaster | www.screentoaster.com
record your screen activity

Have you ever wanted to record your screen activity?  Well, even if you haven’t, take a look at Screentoaster and you might just find a reason.  With a super-simple, virtually download-free setup, you will be producing online screencasts in no time.  You can even make a quick vid for your mom showing her how to check her email.  Screentoaster is still in beta, so go fetch yourself an invite, and start “toasting”.

Favtape | www.favtape.com
create online “mix tapes”

Straight outta San Diego comes an online mecca for creating online “mix tapes”.  A perfect place to listen to your own unique brand of music.  Favtape even gives you the option of importing your Last.fm and/or Pandora playlists, putting you in charge of your virtual turntable (aka mouse and keyboard).  With the ability to “tweet-out” what you’re listening to over your social networks, it adds a nice touch of sociability to your tuneage consumption.  Highly recommend checking out.

Grader.com | www.grader.com
what is your internet grade?

The guys at Hubspot have developed an extremely useful marketing tool for your website, press releases, and twitter profile.  Most famous for its Twitter Grader (www.twitter.grader.com), Hubspot allows you to explore your Twitter ranking, those with similar interests, and who’s who in your neck of the woods.  Using their website grader (www.website.grader.com) is extremely useful for those of us who are looking to increase its traffic and effectiveness to our website(s) (and who isn’t?).  Check it out, these guys are out to help you.

Posterous | www.posterous.com
post blogs/tweets through email

A must for all bloggers.  Posterous is a clever service that allows you to blog from anywhere that you have email access.  Simply email post@posterous.com and it will instantly create a blog post, where the email’s subject becomes the post’s title and the body of the email becomes the body of the blog post.  Set it up to your Twitter account and your smartphone becomes a tweet machine.  Very cool and I guarantee you will use it from time to time.

Dropbox | www.getdropbox.com
sync files, stay ‘live’

Receiving a bunch of press and recently nominated for the 2008 ‘Crunchies’, comes Dropbox,  a tool for syncing files across multiple computers.  Dropbox wants to ensure that your files remain syced up despite any editing or mistaken deletions.  Very cool and seamless product.  Check out the their video, and you will realize why something like this is so useful.  “It just works.”

Animoto | www.animoto.com
create sweet slideshows

Do you have a bunch of photos?  Do you want to do something cool with them?  Enter Animoto.  A pain free way to produce a cool slideshow of your digital memories.  Created by tv and film producers, Animoto gives you the professional and stylish look that you wouldn’t be able to achieve by yourself.  Leave it to the pros, upload your images, and create a masterpiece.

Business plans have long been synonymous with business ventures, more specifically, startup ventures.  There has been much discussion as to whether companies that construct business plans are more likely to succeed compared to those companies who overlook this “holy grail” of documents.  In fact, Guy Kawasaki had posted an interesting study conducted by Babson College on his blog, where they evaluated this exact scenario.  The college analyzed over 100 businesses run by alumni and found no statistical difference in success between those businesses started with formal written plans and those without them.

…no statistical difference in success between those businesses started with formal written plans and those without them.

Could business plans be a thing of the past?  Are business plans an obsolete form of business development?  I would argue that the answer is YES to both of these questions.

Business plans are simply an “old school” method of communicating business ideas, goals, and predictions.  I am a huge proponent of blogging and recommend all entrepreneurs, or individuals for that matter to actively participate in the blogosphere.  If you have something to say, ideas that you would like to publish, opinions/reactions, whatever it may be, start blogging.

Dharmesh Shah, a successful software engineer, entrepreneur, and author of the OnStartups blog speaks about the impact that blogs can make.  In a brilliant video, Dharmesh explains how a “rinky-dink little blog” can attract just as many if not more visitors than a business spending tens of thousands per month on PR and advertising.  Shah makes it very clear that you don’t have to spend a lot of money broadcasting your message for people to take notice of your ideas.  So why not leverage this impact and apply it to building your business this way?  Instead of writing a business plan, why not start a blog?

…you don’t have to spend a lot of money broadcasting your message for people to take notice of your ideas.

Honestly, how many people will read this business plan?
Your blog may not be read by the masses, but I assure you, a passionate, heartfelt post will be read more times than your business plan will.
Business plans are painfully “static” and lack any sort of dynamic dialogue/feedback.
Blogs are delightfully interactive and instantly engage in dialogue through comments and replies.
Business plans are usually long and very boring.
You don’t have to write 20 pages to create an impact.  Some of the greatest and most popular blog posts are short, simple and straight to the point.
After having spent (x) amount of months/days writing this long plan, you will still have exactly zero customers.
Unlike a business plan, blogs give a way for creators to interact with their potential clients before they even buy a product or service.  The effect is felt immediately and constantly builds personal/company brand equity long after your posts are published.

When you’re done writing this long document, there’s a strong likelihood that your business strategy/concept/focus may have changed: [Time to revise and edit]
Blog posts are meant to be written on top of, again and again.  Despite the fact that blog posts have no shelf life and can be referenced for years and years, the most effective bloggers are expected to update their content on a regular basis.
How many people are even going to receive your business plan in the first place?  How many email addresses and mail boxes do you know?
Blog posts are limited by the size of the web.  In other words, your blog has the potential (though unlikely) to reach millions of people around the globe…no address necessary.

Needless to say, I am a huge advocate of utilizing the social web.  It is just too damn powerful not to.  That said, business plans may still serve a purpose, internally at least.  If your company needs a formal document to delegate responsibilities and communicate throughout the organization, I would suggest that you sit down and compile one.  These sorts of documents are still a fundamental aspect in obtaining outside capital as well.  You may not want to approach VCs without a business plan and financial forecasts.

Just remember, it is most important to get yourself and your company into the mainstream (as quick and at any level possible).  Until recently, that required a lot more time and planning, where the company’s business plan acted as the foundation for their work as well as its physical manifestation.  With the introduction and explosion of the social web, a whole new platform has been created.  Startup costs are way down, and there’s a lot of competition.  It is critical for brands to set themselves apart by remaining transparent, genuine, and innovative.  Enter the blog: your company’s new business plan.

After recently rejecting Facebook’s $500 million buyout proposal, micro-blogging phenomenon, Twitter has moved forth acquiring and hiring former O’Reilly CTO Rael Dornfest. This adds fuel to the debate on whether Facebook and Twitter are rivals competing for the same online attention, or if they are instead, two totally independent online communication / information outlets. These are two very interesting platforms, no doubt, with large and promising futures ahead.

It’s very interesting to analyze these two successful (not always measured in dollars and cents, mind you) businesses, and how very different they are. Most notably are their different approaches to openness and complexity. Facebook has operated, so far, in a complete “bubble,” remaining fairly separate from the rest of the web. I believe that this community that Facebook was able to build on the internet is one of the biggest draws, especially at its inception regarding the college campuses that it was penetrating – it served as a virtual campus, sheltered from the “real world,” or the web, in this case. Now, compare this to Twitter. Twitter embraces the web and everything it has to offer, and operates with virtually no boundaries. This coincidentally, has been one of Twitter’s greatest factors to adoption; its openness.

Facebook boasts a very complete, complex profile system chock full of applications, photos, videos, albums, messages, status updates, news feeds, you name it…chances are Facebook has it. The brilliant execution of all these features has made Facebook the top social network to date. As we take a look at Twitter, they retain a completely different mentality, taking the less is more approach and focus on simplicity. And it is this structure that has contributed to Twitter’s success.

It’s very interesting to see how two platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can both be so successful and yet operate so differently. Now, obviously, Facebook is far larger than Twitter, so a true comparison of the companies may be a bit premature for Twitter’s-sake, but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on…and Facebook clearly has. One look at Facebook’s ‘Status Update’ feature and its introduction just shortly after Twitter started to develop a following is testament to the very simple, yet effective platform that Twitter has developed. Which brings me to my final point: What Twitter has that Facebook Doesn’t…

And the answer, is quite simple : Twitter has the ability to connect an individual with anyone, anywhere, at anytime. The same cannot be said for Facebook, or most traditional social networks for that matter. Twitter has removed the need to “Add Friends” and effectively connects individuals regardless of specific networks or communities. To give a very small example of what I mean, Google Analytics reports 8% of my Facebook “Friends” have visited my blog off of a facebook.com referral. Now that number jumps to just shy of 60% when comparing visits off of a twitter.com referral. The point is, Twitter is designed to communicate, network, discuss, and share content on a much more individual level. The stripped-down, bare bones service helps Twitter break the boundaries often created with complex networks.

I think the most interesting thing is that both of these services can coexist without necessarily infringing upon each other (for now at least). It would be hard to find someone without a Facebook account that is on Twitter, and rightfully so. Facebook is an absolutely ridiculous social network that will continue to grow and dominate mainstream. With that said, I can see Twitter accounts being distributed as commonly as email addresses are today — something that Facebook accounts just don’t have the flexibility in executing.

The web has been, and continues to be, an insanely successful platform for connecting, sharing, and discovering content. There is one tremendous aspect concerning the web that will take this internet-interaction to new heights. I’m talking about the geocentric, location-based web. We are in the early stages of this “location-aware” internet, and will see tremendous strides to implement it in the near future.

This geocentric web takes your location into account at all times, enabling content to cater towards your specific location. This element will not only improve local news and events, but will literally transform the way we interact and receive information on the web.

As mobile communication continues to soar with devices like smartphones, laptops, and netbooks, we are becoming an increasingly mobile network of individuals. We are seeing the first application of the geocentric web on our smartphones with services like Loopt, Whrrl, and Brightkite to name a few. These location-based services (LBS) allow you to locate and communicate with your friends, allowing you to see their real-time locations on a map.

Loopt on Apple's iPhone

This is a perfect and practical application on a mobile phone. It also serves as a glimpse of what is to come to the world wide web…

One pioneer in the push for a geocentric web has been Mozilla, and their Firefox browser-plugin dubbed “Geode”. Right now Geode is an experimental add-on to explore geolocation in Firefox 3. It was released for developers to experiment with enabling location-aware experiences, as it follows the W3C Geolocation Specifications.

• Q: How will this effect the future of the internet and its users? A: Immensely

One company who attempts to revolutionize the way we receive localized news content is hyperlocal news and information service, Outside.in. They announced the release of their API yesterday, allowing developers to integrate their location-based news into various applications. Outside.in is taking the idea of a geocentric web and is essentially creating a web-wide local news feed from numerous sources around the web. This is just one example of an effective application under a location-aware internet.

One of the most fascinating things about a fully geocentric web lies in its ability to essentially act as an extension of our surrounding towns and neighborhoods. Up until now, we are used to the web acting as a network across one single dimension. A network that is geographically localized adds a completely new dimension, affording neighboring grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. the ability to target their true audience. Local products and services will be showcased in a whole new light. The geocentric web will truly transform the way individuals consume content and information on the web.

I’m talking about browsers that automatically generate and categorize news based on your location. Websites that feature advertisements and coupons for the Starbucks and Walmart located around the block from your house. Geo-tagged tweets, blog posts, and images sent throughout your social networks. Filtered, localized content from surrounding media outlets and venues. In other words, your own personalized, 365×24x7, digital concierge; assisting in traveling, planning trips, local shopping…you name it.

The internet has been the target of many debates. One in particular is the impact that the web has made on our society. More specifically, the overall sense of separation in internet users from their communities. In some respect, that has been true. Shopping is a prime example of how the internet has made acquiring products a “one-click” process as opposed to a more traditional social interaction. This will not likely change as long as the internet is around, although, a localized, geocentric internet has the potential to lead a more community-driven experience, where a localized web network will finally be able to unite communities based upon their location on the globe.

As Microsoft announced their next operating system with the title of “Windows 7”, many question if Microsoft is attempting to revert back to their roots. Utilizing a more traditional numbered naming scheme may mean that Windows is attempting to streamline its offering and get back to basics. The highly anticipated Vista- successor may just be the most important release for the software giant to date. After what most would call a downright failure with Windows Vista, Microsoft appears to be in a situation where it needs to regain the satisfaction of its customers. Windows 7 must deliver; it’s as simple as that.

Windows 7 is comparable in name to its chief competitor: Apple’s OS X (pronounced “Oh Es Ten”) operating system. With the success and massive strides that Apple has been making within the personal computer industry, it is not a mystery as to why Microsoft would want to emulate the innovative California-based firm. Apple is the model for efficiency and ease-of-use, and let’s face it…Windows isn’t.

Microsoft engineer Mike Nash writes, “The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity.”

“The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity.”

This is a bit of a new strategy considering operating system releases from Microsoft have been built bigger and bulkier than the OS preceding it. Maybe Windows 7 can break the mold and focus on core functionality and efficiency instead of adding more features and useless functions.

Microsoft has used their shiny “Vista bowling ball” resulting in a 7 / 10 split. They must convert the spare using their brand new “Windows 7-lb. ball” or they stand a good chance of losing their customers to the elusive 10 pin; Apple’s OS X.